What Changes With Time
by Karliah357
Summary: Fifteen years after the incident at camp Raz and his partner, Kezia, are sent on a mission crucial to the survival of the Psychonauts. Reunited with Lili after their falling out the three must find the source of the attacks that have been devastating the ranks of the Psychonauts, all while Lili finds herself desperately looking for answers concerning Raz's odd personality change.
1. Fifteen Years Later

The bartender looked up as a new patron approached the bar. He was an odd looking guy, about twenty-five years old with a thick five o'clock shadow. His purple-red hair contrasted sharply against his nearly colorless gray eyes.

"Don't see people like you much around here. Where ya from?"

His eyes scanned the man up and down. He had on a dark green turtleneck under a loose grey jacket the same color as his pants. He was carrying a single strap bag across his back of a lighter grey and from his hip dangled a smaller, navy bag. He placed his hands, adorned in black fingerless gloves, on his head to adjust a pair of red-lensed goggles sitting in his slightly disheveled hair.

"I'll have a sazerac cocktail. Brandy, not whiskey. She'll have the tequila sunrise."

The bartender arched an eyebrow and looked past him through the busy room. Sitting in a booth in the back was a woman reading a newspaper. He looked her over, his eyes dropping from her shoulder length strawberry blonde hair and her turquoise elbow length jacket to her tan shorts and her lithe, porcelain legs tipped in a low brown quarter boot.

The man cleared his throat, snapping the bartender back to reality.

"Sorry man. I'll get those drinks."

He turned away awkwardly, quickly making the beverages and handing them back to him. The man pulled some coins from his navy pouch and placed them on the bar.

He returned to the booth and placed the drink in front of the blonde. Her eyes, the same almost colorless grey, were fixated unblinking at the paper she was holding.

"See anything Kay?"

"Not yet…he hasn't delivered the letter. He's too busy chatting up the brunette by the jukebox."

"The whole time?"

"Yes, and I swear he hasn't looked at her face once."

"How lecherous."

Reaching inside his jacket he retrieved a cigarette tin, placing the filter between his lips and striking a match. Her brow furrowed and it went out.

He raised an eyebrow at her and it relit.

She frowned, and once again it went out.

"Jeez Kezia, it's just one cigarette…"

"I already agreed to drinks Raz. We're on the job, how are we supposed to sneak around with you reeking of smoke all the time? And you know I don't like being called by my name when we're working."

"You're just moody because you've been forced to stare at another woman's breasts for an hour."

Her lips twitched up into a slight smile.

"Alright then, Razputin. Why don't you switch over and use clairvoyance on him instead of me?"

Now it was Raz's turn to frown.

"Hey, that name is too well known to say so loudly."

"As is mine."

"Alright, alright. Back to nicknames for now."

After a short silence Kezia leaned forward slightly.

"He's moving into a back room."

"What do you see?"

"A card table. Our target is there, he's sitting between two shady men."

"Shady how?"

"Loan sharks possibly. He's pulling out the letter. The exchange has been made."

"Great. It's out of our hands now."

Kay blinked rapidly, her eyes tearing up slightly from being open so long. Raz pushed her drink towards her. She picked it up and sipped it as he knocked back half of his in one gulp.

"What's the rush?"

"We may not want to be here in a few minutes."

Kay looked at him questioningly and the two downed their drinks, leaving the bar quickly and driving away in a simple black car.


	2. Last Peaceful Night

They arrived back at their hotel room. Kezia flipped on the television and removed her boots.

"I swear Raz, you have the most uncanny ability to always know when something is about to happen."

Flashing across the screen was news coverage on a bar fight that must have broken out after they left.

"There were some guys arguing, it wasn't like I predicted it."

"I never know with you. Maybe you can see the future."

Kezia laughed as Raz threw his jacket at her.

"You know I can't. Only one line of psychics have ever been able to do that, and it isn't that accurate."

"Haha, you never know with us."

She folded his jacket and hung it over a chair with her own before going to take a shower. Raz took the opportunity to smoke a cigarette, hoping he could wash the smoke off before she noticed. She hated sleeping next to him when he smelled.

Kezia came out in a pair of grey sweatpants and a baggy blue shirt, sitting on the bed to brush her wet hair while Raz took his shower. Raz returned in red flannel pants and a white under shirt in time to watch her use telekinesis to braid her hair, the individual strands separating and swirling together until every hair had been flawlessly collected and bound.

"I still don't understand how you can do that."

"And I still don't understand how you can snipe a person off of a roof four blocks away with a PSI-blast."

"To each their own."

"At least mine is practical." She joked, making Raz roll his eyes at her as he plopped down beside her on the bed.

"I wonder who keeps paying the Psychonauts to set up all these politicians."

"Someone who is trying to be a vigilante probably. He's only targeting the corrupt ones."

"I wasn't aware there were politicians who weren't corrupt."

"Every little bit helps I guess, the guy has already removed four of them from their positions."

After some small talk they turned off the lights and laid down to sleep.

A few hours later Raz began thrashing, fighting an invisible creature that only existed in his mind. The movement woke Kezia, who hurriedly flipped over and seized Raz's shoulders in her hands, shaking him until he awoke. He looked around frantically, breathing hard as a cold sweat matted his hair to his forehead. She grabbed the corner of the sheet and used it to dry Raz's face.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah…I'm alright."

Without a word Raz wrapped both arms around Kezia's hips, laying his head on her stomach. Her only acknowledgment of the contact was a gentle hand she laid on the side of his head, petting his hair until he nodded off again. After that she settled back and attempted to fall asleep, wondering if she would fall victim to the same horrors that had gripped Raz minutes prior.


	3. An Old Flame

Raz opened his eyes, releasing the puff of smoke he had been holding through his nose. The morning after he and Kezia had taken a flight to New York so he could purchase something for one of his sisters. She had recently gotten married and he already bad enough for missing the wedding.

He hated shopping. It always ended the same way: he'd stress over what to buy, get irritated, and end up walking the streets leaving Kezia behind to make the decision. It felt weird sending his family gifts he didn't pick out himself, but bad habits were hard to break. She never bought a bad gift, though. They were always thoughtful things Raz figured he probably would have gotten himself if he had the patience.

Rounding the corner he felt a sudden chill flit across his skin. It was his only warning before he flew up off the ground and was catapulted into a nearby ally, stopping with the thunk of his shield against the brick. He silently thanked his minds sharp reflexes and actively held the energy shield. Scanning the shadows he called out cautiously.

"Who's there?"

Abruptly the telekinetic power holding him to the wall turned him upside-down. His cigarette tin slipped from his coat pocket and clattered to the ground below.

"Since when do you smoke?"

Recognition lit Raz's eyes just as he was released. With a graceful flip he swung the energy from underneath him creating a levitation ball and gently descended to the ground.

"It's good to see you, Lili."

She smiled. She looked so different, tall and slightly muscled from training oversees. Her body had filled out nicely into womanly curves accentuated by the black vest atop her washed out pink shirt and her skinny jeans. He grinned when he realized she was wearing the black, calf-high boots he mailed her last Christmas. Even though they hadn't seen each other since graduating they still sent each other letters, gifts and things for birthdays and holidays in an unspoken mutual gesture.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it Raz?"

"Nearly six years. Yeah."

She took a step closer, looking closely at his face. Her eyes were that same beautiful green, her red hair cascading over her shoulders. He wondered when she stopped tying it back, since it seemed she now had a preference for headbands.

"Woah, and you wear contacts too?"

"Something like that."

"What does that mean?"

He shrugged and interrupted her further comment.

"What are you doing back? Visiting your dad?"

"No, I was transferred back."

"Huh? Why?"

"The United States division of the Psychonauts recently suffered a few losses, so the European division sent some of us back here."

"I heard about that. Terrible incident, but they stopped the bomb from getting to Hawaii."

An awkward silence passed between them.

"So uh…shall we walk?"

She nodded and handed him his cigarette tin. They started walking as he pulled one out and gave her a questioning look. She nodded, so he lit it and stuck it between his lips.

The silence became palpable even as the world continued pulsating noisily around them.


	4. Line Of Galochio

Raz and Lili walked back to the hotel he was staying at. This was going to be the awkward part.

Kezia looked up from a chair in the foyer where she had been quietly reading a book. Lili stopped walking and turned to him with an accusing look on her face.

"SHE is your partner?!"

"Yeah, why?"

"Why?! You know why!"

By then Kezia had reached them. She was holding a bag in her hand.

"I got this; I hope it's something your sister would like."

Peaking in he glanced at the beautiful photo album. She even had his sister's and her husband's names engraved in the leather.

"It's perfect. Thank you Kay."

Kezia glanced between the two of them and, sensing the tension, took the bag and retreated to the elevator. Once she was gone Lili crossed her arms and glared at him.

"When Vernon told me you had a questionable girlfriend while I was at HQ I was NOT expecting this Razputin."

"She isn't my girlfriend Lili. HQ partnered us together, I have no say in this arrangement."

"Oh come on, nobody rents that many single bed hotel rooms for themselves and their partner if there isn't something going on."'

Raz decided next time he saw Vernon he was going to PSI-blast that gossipy busybody through his computer screen. The guy had went from a boring storytelling kid to a loose lipped information technician. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, tired of this.

"I have my reasons. Why do you care anyway?"

"Because that's Kezia Galochio! Have you forgotten what her family did to yours? You know, the cursed Hand of Galochio that tries to drown everyone related to you by blood? What would your father say?"

Raz turned on her angrily.

"Oh come on, you can't blame her for something a great-grandsomething did. She's her own person you know, not everyone is a physical manifestation of their family line. You should be quite familiar with how annoying it is to constantly be compared to a family member, isn't that right Ms. Daughter of the Grand Head of the Psychonauts?"

"This is different!"

"Why? Because that isn't the only reason you'd disapprove of her?"

The two exchanged a heated, angry stare, neither wanting to retaliate further. It was no secret the two had left off on a sour note all those years ago.

After the incident at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp they had left with Sasha and Milla on their first official mission, which was to save Lili's father. It went off without a hitch and the two had been allowed to enter Psychonauts Training Academy a full year early without any problem. The minimum age to enter was eleven, and even if they were old enough many didn't pass the entrance exam. It had been an honor, and Raz could still remember the look of pride on his father's face when he told him the news.

They were the schools hottest item, known as the "Child-Sweetheart Heroes" for more than just the camp incident and mission. Raz and Lili were two of the most powerful psychics in the Academy, and subsequently the most popular. By the time they graduated they had been dating for almost eight years and were extremely close friends.

Raz never found out if it was a test from her father or what. A week before the graduation ceremony Lili announced she was being sent to the European division. It wasn't the announcement that started the fight. In fact, he couldn't remember what the reason was anymore. It was mostly a blur, his memory jumping to the end when Lili left in tears, he destroyed half of his dorm in self-directed anger, and he regretted every hurtful thing he had said to her. Even now he wondered if she truly meant the things she had said or regretted them like he did. They ended up graduating without ever settling things, and even though they corresponded off and on over the years there were never any apologies. Only brief letters, almost like they couldn't quite let go.

Raz sighed, his features softening as he rubbed a hand over his tired face. Lili backed down as well and, for a moment, saw Raz looking much older than he was. Her voice was quiet ad worried.

"What happened to you? What happened to my headstrong, brave Raz?"

"Go home, Lili."

"But why? Why won't you talk to me?"

"It's been six years Lili, I'm not the person I used to be. Do yourself a favor and forget about it."


	5. The California Mission

"Damn it all!"

Raz threw the small tablet across the room. Kezia, who had been watching TV, caught it with telekinesis before it could smash against the wall.

"More bad news?"

"All the past month has been is bad news! I can't believe that bomb had only been the first of it!"

Kezia frowned and pulled the tablet to herself, reading the report.

**High Alert, Security Level 2**

**Attention Psychonauts,**

**We regret to inform you all that there has been another coordinated attack. This time four of our agents have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty, bringing the death count for this month up to twelve. All agents are to remain on high alert. We believe this is an effort to exterminate the Psychonauts. Report any suspicious activity immediately.**

**Amelie, Dunham, Nezrine, and Rider's bodies will be returned to their families. **

"Twelve Kay! These crazy bastards have killed TWELVE of us in ONE MONTH."

"And that isn't including the five who died in the Hawaii bomb incident or the two who were assassinated last month…"

Raz threw away the filter and stuck another cigarette in his mouth. Normally Kezia would chew him out for smoking in their hotel room, but recent events had them both on edge.

"I hope our backup gets here soon. Maybe we'll find something at the docks."

"God I hope so…we can't lose anyone else…"

There was a knock at the door.

"Speak of the devil."

Kezia sat up and retrieved her jacket just in time to hear Raz open the door and choke on his cigarette smoke. Turning around she found the source of his obvious discomfort was none other than Lili Zanotto herself.

He managed to compose himself and looked at her in disbelief.

"They sent YOU?!"

"Er yes, yes they did."

"This is…ugh never mind we need to get to the docks."

He straightened his goggles atop his head and brushed past her, walking towards their car. Kezia started to apologize to her for Raz's behavior, but Lili just shook her head and walked back to the car as well.

Kezia sighed.

"These two are going to be the death of me…"

With that she also went to the car. Raz was sitting shotgun and Lili was in the back, so Kezia drove. During the ride Lili thought back to when she was at HQ a few days prior.

"_Vernon, are these the files?"_

"_Yep! Since you have level four clearance you can view them."_

"…_Wait...Where are Razputin and Kezia's files?"_

"_Oh, those? They're on the max security level."_

"_What?! Why?"_

"_I don't know, I only handle this stuff. All I know is that right before they were partnered together all their information suddenly disappeared. Now it's classified."_

It wasn't long before they were walking through the warehouses on the docks, the smell of sea and fish hanging heavily in the air. Raz shuddered.

"I have a bad feeling about this…"

Moments later they saw their target, a fat balding man, pulling out to sea on his yacht. Raz sighed exasperatedly.

"I knew it…I hate boats…"

With that the three set out to sea on a low dingy under the cover of nightfall towards the considerably bigger vessel. Kezia was the first to break the silence.

"So Lili, they briefed you already, right?"

"Yeah, we're going after a guy with ties to the mafia. They're suspected of being behind the attacks."

Kezia nodded, looking out towards the yacht.

"You graduated from the Academy? I don't remember you."

Lili eyed Kezia. She stared at her blankly for a moment before replying.

"I graduated three years before you, you wouldn't remember me."

"But-"

"Lili."

Both women jumped and looked at Raz. He was rigidly sitting inside the boat looking at them through the darkness.

"That's enough, please."

She started to say something else, but they were getting close to the yacht.

Suddenly a bomb blew near the boat, rocking it onto its side.

"RAZ!"

Both women lunged for him as his body started over the side of the boat, the Hand of Galochio seizing his body and dragging him over the side. Without hesitation they went over the edge after him.

Lili focused her eyes. There were floating bombs all around the boat, the whole thing had been a trap. Locating Kezia in the water she saw she had reached Raz first.

Kezia touched the Hand, causing it to spasm and break apart in the water. Raz, newly freed, began kicking his feet clumsily as Lili reached him and helped Kezia haul him to the surface.

The three used levitation to get out of the water. Lili idly wondered how the two of them were of them were so good at it as they hurried to the yacht. Onboard they found their target dead and the boat void of people.

"We were…set up…"

Raz sat down to catch his breath. Lili turned to Kezia in confusion.

"You can make the Hand go away?"

"Yes that's one of the reasons I was appointed his partner."

"But why only temporarily? Why not get rid of the curse for good?"

Kezia looked at her sadly.

"That's the thing…the curse can only be lifted-"

"I recommend we leave."

Raz shuffled back to the edge of the boat. He grabbed Lili around the waist and levitated high into the air, Kezia not far behind him. They were halfway to shore when the yacht exploded in the distance.

"Holy hell Raz! I thought your specialization was offensive energy?!"

Raz and Kezia wouldn't answer her questions, so Lili just stared on incredulously. A flaw with psychics is that they can only truly master one, maybe two abilities, though they can learn multiple abilities which are developed at a considerably weaker level. It's because the human brain can only sustain so much at once, like a bowl. Because of this every Psychonaut was assigned a specialization in the Academy. Raz's specialization was marksmanship, though they gave him the specialization of offensive energy because he could do that weird energy hand thing. They suspected he absorbed some of the psychic power from the curse to learn to do that.

But Lili knew that Raz had never reached this power level with levitation at the Academy. Back then he could barely bounce and float, but at that moment was flawlessly flying with an extra passenger?

What happened the six years she was gone?


	6. The Assassin

Back at the docks they quickly hid themselves in a warehouse. Raz and Kezia began speaking using telepathy, which Lili couldn't do but managed to participate through Raz.

'There could be more'

'Yes, we need to find a way out of here'

'The car tires were slashed'

'Looks like we're walking'

'Right. Too risky to levitate'

'Let's go'

They made their way as silently as possible through the warehouses when suddenly a familiar numbing sensation filled their minds, causing them to stumble around momentarily.

Raz recovered from the confusion quickly. Lili was lying on the ground babbling incoherently and Kezia was nowhere in sight.

"Lili! LILI!"

"Huh? Wha…what?"

"There's another psychic here, he must be the assassin that set us up. We have to find Kezia!"

And with that they set off with the element of surprise. The guy knows the confusion should last him a couple of hours, but didn't know that Raz could recover from it so quickly. An outside source is the best cure for mental confusion, so Lili also snapped out of it without much effort.

"Raz! In here!"

There was Kezia, slumped against the weathered wall with a doorway on her forehead. Standing in front of her was the assassin, a man neither one of them recognized. At least, his body was. His mind was in Kezia's.

"Crap…we can't tear them apart without hurting Kezia."

"We're going in?"

"Yes. Hurry."

He reached up and grasped his goggles, pulling them down over his eyes. His body went rigid and Lili knew his mind was gone. With that she closed her own eyes and followed him into Kezia's brain.

When she opened them again she was beside Raz, the two of them standing in front of a large caravan.

"A caravan?"

"A gypsy caravan."

Raz corrected. Lili looked at him questioningly.

"Ok it isn't that important, I just felt the need to point out it's different from a circus caravan. Anyway I had us bypass her Conscious level straight to the Subconscious level."

The human mind is separated into layers that gradually melt into one another. There is the outer layer, the Conscious level, which only shows what the person wants you to see. The second Subconscious level houses general memories and knowledge. Next is the seal above the Deep Subconscious, which is commonly referred to as a person's "Happy Place" that they retreat into. It's a layer of calm that hides the horrors below in the Deep Subconscious, which houses all those memories that people don't want to remember.

"Eeep!"

The both looked up in time to see a little, child version of Kezia sitting at a table outside the caravan. She must have been about six, wearing a pink dress and no shoes. She had her thumb in her mouth, sucking on it with a few tears in her eyes.

"Is that Kezia's Id?"

"Yeah."

When one enters their own mind they become the combined embodiment of their own Ego and Superego. The Id isn't absorbed because it's too primitive, and such life-sustaining impulses aren't needed when inside one's own mind. Absorbing all three just makes everything complicated, so psychics often ran into their own Id while in the outer portions of their mind.

Raz approached the little girl and ruffled her hair.

"Hey Kezia."

"Razputin!"

Her face lit up with a smile. Lili noticed the small girl's bright blue eyes and another red flag went up. Why were Raz and Kezia's eyes that almost colorless gray?

"What are you doing?"

"Oh…momma's making me learn to sew so I can start helping her make money. She also said that it'll help me get a husband faster, but I keep poking my finger…"

Little Kezia's Id had bandages on most of her fingers, and a massive pile of cloth on one side of the table. It looked like she hadn't finished a single blanket yet.

Raz sighed and gently took her hands.

"Where is your mother Kezia?"

"My mother? My mother…oh right…"

Her face twisted slightly. The caravan vanished, and suddenly the two were in a field.

"My mother is dead…I'm an orphan…"

"I'm sorry I had to do that to you Kezia, but we had to get to the seal. Where did that man go?"

"He's in the bad place…I don't go there…"

With that she ran into the trees and vanished. Lili swallowed hard.

"I…I didn't know that…I'm sorry I said those things about her…"

"Don't worry about it. You didn't know and I didn't tell you. Kezia is the last living Galochio, so she ended up at the Academy when she was about seven."

Lili looked out over the field as they walked. It was beautiful, with various picnic related figments scattered about.

"Wait…are these flowers made of…paper?"

"Origami. Yeah, it's her hobby. She said flowers die too quickly so she makes her own. Here we are."

The two were standing at the edge of a cliff above a thrashing, swirling whirlpool.

"Shall we?"

He held his hand out to her. Lili took it and they turned, jumping into the abyss below.


	7. Guilt And Injustice

Lili gasped and sat up. She was alone in the Deep Subconscious level.

"Raz? Raz!"

No reply. Getting up she looked around and realized she was standing in one of the halls of the Academy.

"This is one of her worst memories?"

She walked through slowly, checking each empty classroom in search of Raz but finding nothing.

Eventually she reached a room near the end of the hall. It was so much darker there; she could barely see the door handle to open it. She stepped inside, flicked the light on…

And let out a scream.

Blood, so much blood was spattered across the desks, wall, window, even the ceiling in an impossible arch. She fought down the growing sense of nausea as she spotted something twitching underneath the teacher's desk.

A safe.

She knew she shouldn't open it, but she had to know. As the old, rusted safe door opened a memory poured into her mind.

_A nine-year-old Kezia sat at her desk. She was early, so only a few students were in the room. They all looked older, twelve or thirteen most likely._

"_Hey fatface, give me your lunch again."_

_A portly ginger girl was sitting in front of the window, looking terrified. A much taller, muscular brunette was harassing her while her two friends giggled beside her._

"_B-But you took my lunch yesterday too-"_

"_Hah! You should miss a few meals fatty. Or we could just make sure you're in the nurse's office all lunch break instead, you'd make a cushy punching bag."_

_Kezia slammed her fists on her desks and stood. Enough was enough!_

"_Leave her alone Meredith! I'm tired of you harassing our peers!"_

"_Well lookie here, little miss psychic prodigy actually grew some balls! What are you gonna do kid, convince me to be a better person?"_

_Meridith and her cronies cackled. _

"_Look, you get one more strike against you and you're out of the Academy. Give it a rest; you've had your fun."_

"_Haha, what are you going to do? Call your momma?"_

_Meredith yanked Kezia out of her chair and pinned her against the wall. She was much, much bigger and considerably stronger physically. _

"_Must suck huh? Must suck that your daddy was a one night stand and your mother hated you so much she threw herself off a cliff huh? Must suck that your entire family is dead, don't it you orphaned wannabe? You're only here because the higher ups didn't want a Galochio floating around in the foster care system."_

_Kezia looked bored and rolled her eyes._

"_Yes, my family is dead, but for your information my father died in a car accident before I was born and my mother slipped off that cliff. Karma wasn't kind to the Galochios, and it wasn't kind to you. I seem to recall that your father is an abusive drunk and last I heard I could buy your mom off a street corner for three hours with a hundred bucks. My parents are dead and they're STILL better parents than yours."_

_Meredith flew into a rage, slamming Kezia onto a desk. The chubby ginger girl bolted from the room without turning back, running past several classrooms without so much as going into one for help._

"_Where did you hear that?!"_

"_Your brother, he talks a lot."_

"_My brother is sixteen!"_

"_He's an assistant in my clairvoyance class."_

_Suddenly Kezia flew up off the desk, her body slamming into the sealing. Meredith's telekinesis held her firm and unrelenting, compressing her ribs until one let out an audible snap. The girl's friends began shifting uncomfortably._

"_Um…Merry…Maybe we should put her down now…"_

"_Yeah, Mrs. Juniper and our classmates will be here soon…"_

_Kezia mind was fuzzy. She couldn't breathe, the pain radiating throughout her body. She felt the panic, the rage at being beaten and abandoned smothering her mind until she couldn't take it anymore._

"_ENOUGH!"_

_A surge of power._

_Meredith's head exploded, blood and grey matter covering the girls and the room._

The memory ended with the suffocating intensity of guilt, forcing Lili to scramble away from it before it ejected her from Kezia's mind. She wandered down several hallways in an attempt to shake the lingering feelings from the memory when she suddenly found herself in front of two double doors. They seemed to lead into a hospital room containing two beds, so she began to push open the door.

A hand on her arm startled her, causing her to turn into Raz.

"Raz!"

Without thinking she hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, holding her gently.

"What did you find?..."

"Oh God Raz, it was her memory from the Academy."

"Ah, that one…"

She separated from him quickly.

"We have to find Kezia and the assassin!"

"I found him, but I didn't want to go in without you. Too risky, but Kezia is keeping an eye on him. Come on."

With that the two went sprinting down the corridor.


	8. PENANCE! PENANCE! PENANCE!

Exiting the building they found themselves in a large, open yard. Directly across from them was a courthouse, the building wrapped in chains and locks.

The assassin was inspecting the chains and couldn't see Kezia hidden around the corner watching him. Once she spotted Raz and Lili approaching she stepped out.

"Looking for something?"

The man glanced at her. He must have been of Japanese descent, because he favored it highly. He had slightly wild eyes and let out an eerie laugh.

"Hello Ms. Kezia! I'm here to kill you, I hope you don't mind."

"What makes you think I'll let you kill me?"

"Well the others couldn't stop me, so I doubt you can!"

He opened his mouth and breathed out a yellow cloud. Kezia threw up a shield, blocking out the confusion gas with ease. Lili wondered how Kezia and Raz could make their shields that powerful.

Using pyrokinesis Raz ignited the gas. As the smoke cleared Kezia was still standing in her shield, but the man was gone.

A loud, resounding clunk drew their attention to the chains.

"What a surprise! I thought I put the two of you down in the physical world!"

Kezia lunged for him, knocking him off of the side of the building. He sneered at her with a small amount of insanity leaking into his voice.

"It's too late~"

A loud bang startled them. Then another, causing the rest of the chains to fall to the ground as a muffled voice chanted inside. Slowly the doors squealed open to reveal what was closed off behind them.

"PENANCE! PENANCE! PENANCE!"

It was a massive woman, the Lady Justice statue. Her eyes were covered in a blindfold and she was holding the scale, easily standing at three stories tall. Kezia's eyes grew wide and the man used the distraction to throw her off.

"Oh no you don't!"

Lili grabbed him with telekinesis, throwing him on the ground. He just kept laughing as he stood. He breathed out more gas.

"Hang on!"

Raz swept Lili up in his arms, covering them both in his shield to keep the gas out. It was filling the area and making it nearly impossible to see. A bead of sweat rolled down Raz's face.

"This guy is powerful. I don't think I can fight and sustain the shield, and Kezia may be having the same problem."

"I don't know of any confusion specialists that are this powerful…"

"I hope he's the only one they have…"

Raz began running, trying to locate Kezia. He could hear what sounded like a fight, but had no idea where.

"Lili, can you use your telekinesis to throw us up on the roof of the courthouse? We need to get above the gas."

She nodded, launching them upwards. On the roof they found Kezia looking around frantically.

"Oh good, you two are alright!"

"Where is that creature?"

"PENANCE! PENANCE! PENANCE!"

It rose up above the gas, swinging its scales at them. They barely managed to jump out of the way in time but couldn't retaliate before it sank out of sight again. Raz scratched his stubble thoughtfully.

"This isn't going to be easy…"

"If we could find the assassin and take him out then the gas would stop, right?"

He nodded at Lili.

"Yes, but how to find him…"

Kezia was breathing hard. She didn't look well and Lili, who was closest to her, grabbed her elbow to steady her.

"Hey, are you ok?"

"No…I see what he's doing. He's going in and releasing the things that bother people the most in hopes it will drive them mad. His other targets where all dead from self-inflicted injuries due to this method and using confusion on them."

"What bothers you most is guilt, isn't it?"

"Yes and if this goes on for too long-"

"PENANCE! PENANCE! PENANCE!"

They leapt out of the way of another attack, once again failing to strike before it slithered back out of sight. Kezia moved sluggishly.

"Damn…The gas is starting to affect me mentally. It's making me numb."

Raz called out to them.

"I have an idea! Follow my lead!"

"PENANCE! PENANCE! PENANCE!"

The thing came up again, but this time Raz was ready. He spun with surprising speed and hit the side of its head with a PSI-blast, knocking the blindfold off. It screamed and sank below the gas again.

Lili shuddered.

"Ok that thing is really creepy!"

"I got it!"

They both looked at Kezia, who was slumped on her knees unblinking. Lili grinned.

"Clairvoyance, that's brilliant!"

"Five o'clock!"

Raz shot a PSI-blast and Lili struck out with her telekinesis in a kind of psychic punch. They both made contact with Lady Justice sending her tumbling backwards flat on her back. Her fall pushed just enough gas away for Raz to spot the assassin, who he snapped up with his own telekinesis causing the man to stop drooling out the substance. Kezia rose to her feet slowly, regaining some of her senses as a bit of the gas cleared.

The man scowled.

"You can't stop the inevitable!"

He inhaled, ready to produce more, when Kezia used her levitation to get to him. She placed a shield around him, trapping him and the gas inside it.

"It's all yours guys!"

Raz and Lili turned as Lady Justice began to stand, snarling the same thing at them over and over again.

"PENANCE! YOU DESERVE PUNISHMENT! TERMINATION!"

The word struck Lili. Termination…that was what happened to dangerous psychics who lost control of their abilities, like poor Dogen. Once the higher ups decided someone was too dangerous and out of control to rehabilitate they were "terminated". She didn't know what happened to people that were terminated, and something told her she didn't want to know. All she knew is that they always disappeared without a trace.

But if that was the case with Kezia, then why was she still here?

Another attack silenced her thoughts. Jumping out of the way of the way of the scales she slapped the thing sideways with her telekinesis while Raz continues to blast her, pushing her back around to the front of the courthouse. Raz dropped in front of her as she finally stepped before the open doors.

"Kezia has already buried her demons, now get back in there!"

With that he released a massive PSI-blast, sending Lady Justice flying back into her prison. Lili used her powers to wind the chains back around it and snap the locks into their rightful places. Kezia let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you…now everyone out!"

Raz, Lili, and the assassin were ejected from her mind, though she shoved the man out with enough force to make him stumble backwards physically. Raz was on him in seconds, knocking him out with a single well-placed blow.


	9. My Old Friends

Lili exited the break room with a sigh. They had brought the assassin back to HQ, where he was being held in an interrogation room. They had him securely strapped down to a chair, his back forced straight and his head held firmly in a helmet designed to stop psychics from using their abilities. So far it had been three hours and they had nothing.

She sipped her coffee and walked around the corner where she spotted someone familiar.

"Kitty? Is that you?"

"Oh…hello Lili…"

"I haven't seen you in a long time, what brings you here?"

"The guy you arrested…they said he's an assassin…"

Her lip started quivering and she burst into tears. Lili stared at her awkwardly for a moment, unsure of what to do. Thankfully one of the security officers went and gently led her into a room down the hall to calm down.

"Poor Kitty…"

She turned to see Raz, who had probably just left the interrogation room.

"What happened to her?"

All Lili knew about Kitty was that she didn't join the Psychonauts, but instead became a fashion designer. Raz had mentioned in one of his letters that she married one of the agents later on.

"The guy we have in there? That's Harley Bubai."

"Wait…he isn't…"

"He's Kitty's brother, but for her it opened old wounds as well as new ones. Her husband Rider was killed in the last attack. Now she has to cope with knowing that not only is her brother a criminal, but he is also partially responsible for her husband's death."

Lili swallowed hard.

"Oh no…Has he said anything?"

"Not really. He keeps spouting some nonsense about him being one of the five pillars that will liberate the world and bring power to the one true ruler."

"That's…ominous…"

"Extremely. I think I know where we can get some answers though. Can you go get Kezia for me? If I see that man's face one more time I might tear it off."

She nodded and headed that way. Raz decided he needed some fresh air and started for the entrance. A voice calling to him from behind stopped him.

"Raz! Hey man, I heard you were back and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to flag you down in time!"

He turned, seeing that familiar face and genuinely smiling for the first time all day.

"Bobby Zilch! God, how long has it been?"

Yes, Bobby. Chloe had managed to get through to him at camp, and the message seemed to be further driven home by the brain fiasco. Bobby soon outgrew his childishness and Chloe her spaceman phase, but she still loved astronomy. That was how Bobby found his calling: building and maintaining telescopes as well as related equipment, which he now did professionally for Chloe and her team. They both joined the Academy four years after Raz and Lili had, but graduated at the same time since they weren't taking any training classes. Raz and Bobby had even ended up as roommates and, unexpectedly, became good friends. Raz was sad to admit that he hadn't really stayed in touch the last few years.

"Too long, how have you been?"

"Fine. How have you and Chloe been?"

"We've been great, though Chloe's been really moody lately. She's mad her boss made her take maternity leave. I swear, if she could give birth charting the next sector she would."

"I hope she doesn't try to name your first kid after a star."

"Too late Raz, too late. I don't mind though, it makes her happy."

Raz smiled. It was about time he ran into an old friend that ended up happy.

"Hey, Raz? I heard Lili is back. Have you two made up yet?"

His face dropped.

"No…we haven't…"

Bobby sighed and patted his shoulder.

"Well, I was hoping for better news for this…but, maybe it will cheer you up anyway."

He withdrew a small box from his pocket. Raz's eyes grew wide.

"No way…"

"I saw you throw it out the window after your fight. I figured I'd hold onto it for you until I could give it back."

"I…Thanks Bobby. I really regretted throwing that away."

He palmed the box and stuffed it snuggly into his pants pocket just before Lili and Kezia appeared around the corner. Bobby waved at him before leaving.

"Good luck on your mission Razputin. You and the girls are smart, you'll find out what's going on out there."


End file.
